back-patty

back-patty

English

Etymology

back-pat +‎ -y

Adjective

back-patty (comparative more back-patty, superlative most back-patty)

1. (idiomatic) Self-congratulatory or self-aggrandizing.
   • 1969, book review, The Strayed Reveller, Number 3, May 1969, page 7:

     We can all start off feeling back-patty and warm with our secret selves, having identified a literary allusion.

   • 2018, Elizabeth Foley & Beth Coates, What Would Cleopatra Do?: Life Lessons from 50 of History's Most Extraordinary Women, page 102:

     But before we get all back-patty about our leaps and bounds in the progress of human endeavor, it is worth remembering that the world of science can seem extraordinarily backward when it comes to those with two X chromosomes.

   • 2018, Marc T. Michael, "In A State Of His Own", The Pulse, 5 April 2018, page 16:

     So what's got me feeling mildly smug and back-patty today?

Related terms

• pat on the back